new for us friday: LeapFrog Story Time Pad (& giveaway!)

This New For Us Friday, I’m totally excited about a new product from LeapFrog designed especially with younger kiddos in mind.

And I’m not at all surprised that though I originally handed it to Cora, that Maddy and Owen have been vying for the LeapFrog Story Time Pad for the last few days.

It’s new, and it’s a ‘pretend’ tablet modeled after most adult tablet readers.

I happen to have three kids who loooove to grab my cell old phone, and they walk around talking on the phone, engaging in conversations with people real and imagined. So when I heard that the Story Time Pad was a ‘pretend’ tablet, I immediately thought about my kids and their cell phones.

What I realized, after we really had a chance to try out the Story Time Pad, was that though it’s not as fancy as our other LeapFrog products, there was no pretending that the device does have real educational value for little ones.

And I am so totally over the moon that I have a LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad to give away to one lucky teach mama reader.Hoooray!

Here’s the skinny:

LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad: It may not be a ‘real’ tablet reader, but it holds up to five stories, nine songs, and three ’emails’ at a time, and it really does contain elements that help pre-readers build early literacy skills.

The Story Time Pad is a sleek and incredibly lightweight device that little ones can easily hold in their hands.

There’s no stylus to use; rather, the raised buttons on the pad make button-pressing easy, and children can choose to play with letters by pressing the yellow abc button, read ’email’ by pressing the purple envelope button, listen to a story by pressing the blue book button, or hear music by pressing the orange musical note button. It’s simple and intuitive. It’s actually a bunch to keep them busy without being an overload or intimidating.

Even Brady wanted in on the LeapFrog My Story Time Pad!

Set-up is incredibly easy with this device–like all LeapFrog products, parents can download the LeapFrog Connect Software for the Story Time Pad, and in a few minutes, it can be personalized.

I added Cora’s name to our device, so when she turns it on, she hears the same friendly greeting that she loves with her Tag Junior: Hello, Cora, or Hi there, Cora. When she heard it the first time on her Story Time Pad, she literally danced.

I was also able to personalize it further by adding Cora’s favorite color, food, and animal so that the stories she hears would contain those familiar elements. I then chose five stories, a few special email messages, and music–both with lyrics and without–to make it even more meaningful experience for Cora.

I was pleasantly surprised with this product; it’s a really great first inexpensive ‘tablet’ for young kids, and I honestly appreciate its simplicity and design. Sure, the graphics aren’t even close to as crisp as with the LeapPad or Explorer–it’s very basic–but it does the job. It’s a super starstarter electronic device for kids two years or older to explore.

And I am betting if I had a few of these for my 3 1/2 hour solo trips to and from Pennsylvania with three kids, I would have had three happy–quiet!–travelers.

Overall, we especially appreciate and love the following about the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad:

the texture and size of the buttons is great for developing fine motor skills;

the icons on the alphabet, email, story, and music buttons clearly identify their purpose and the paw in the center is the ‘enter’ button;

that it can be personalized (yay!) so kiddos hear a pleasant greeting when they begin and when they end and sometimes in between;

that it includes games and music;

that kids can type basic messages and see them on the screen;

that parents can monitor their children’s progressif they want to–if they don’t want to, and they don’t need to;

that like all LeapFrog products, it’s designed with kids and parents in mind–the games are fun, engaging, and educationally focused without being boring, and parents can track their children’s learning on the LeapFrog site in seconds.

We wish:

that the graphics were just a wee bit better;

that the stories were a wee bit longer–(they could use some ‘meat’, as they are short and sweet);

that there was a way to save or share the short messages kids type.

GIVEAWAY: One LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad!

Do you want to win one LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad??!? (Give it to your kids now or save it for holiday time!)

All you have to do is leave a comment here (with email address!) explainingwho will use the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad if you win it.

For extra entries:

Tweet this: Win a @LeapFrog Story Time Pad on @teachmama — just in time for the holidays! http://wp.me/p1NAxy-1ik #weteach #spon #ece

This contest ends on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at midnight ET. Winner will be chosen by ‘And the Winner is. . .’ and will be notified on or around 12/10/11. Winner must respond within three (3) days of notification or forfeit the prize, in which case an alternate winner will be selected. All Official Sweepstakes Rules apply.

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fyi: We have had the opportunity to try the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad, as I am part of the LeapFrog Review Program. All of the opinions here are my own, influenced only by the feedback of my three kids (7, 6, and 4 yrs) and my own experience as an educator and parent. This is an unsponsored post, but my family was given the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad to review. LeapFrog will provide the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad to the winner.

As a mom, auntie, and teacher, I believe there’s no better gift than the gift of reading! Although I feel there’s nothing like a good book, books are competing with an enormous overload of technology and to keep up, you truly have to start them young! I’d love to win the Leapfrog my own story time pad for my two young nieces who live in FL. We read all kinds of books through Skype and this would be a fun, new way to share stories together. What a smart new toy
to take reading adventures to a new height!

I homeschool my second grader and, unfortunately, my three year old sometimes can get a little board. I think she would love this Leapfrog Storeytime Pad so help her from not getting board. It’ll also be great for her and I to use during out one on one time.

I’m a homeschooling mom of 4 so I would love to win this leap pad for my 4 and 2 year old to keep them busy when their big sisters are still doing school. We love our Tag readers and this would be another great educational toy for our arsenal!

Also I pinned your math bingo on my pinterest page yesterday:) We played for a good 40 minutes yesterday. The kids loved it and were thankful that they got to eat the bingo markers when we were through; they were m&m’s.

I bought my 3 year old a leapster explorer for Christmas. This would be the perfect gift to give to my younger kiddo, Tyson who is almost 2! He could feel like a big boy and then grow into the toy.
By the way, I could relate to your story, Tyson carries anything and everything around the house saying, “hello” into it. He loves when he can actually snag my phone, though!

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